NORFOLK, Va. — Five new state-of-the-art buildings are dedicated at Fort Lee bringing the Army Ordnance Schools training into the 21st century.
"Service to the Line, On the Line and On Time" has been the motto and battle cry of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps for nearly 200 years. Today, the Army Ordnance Corps continues to live out that motto while training soldiers, leaders and civilians in technical skills to support the Army by providing effective and efficient maintenance, munitions and explosive ordnance.
Their mission became easier May 5, thanks to the design and construction management expertise of Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Col. Clark W. LeMasters, Army chief of Ordnance and commandant of the Ordnance School at Fort Lee, Va., used a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony to praise the completion of five new high-tech buildings, all part of the new Army Ordnance Center campus at Fort Lee.
The five new buildings were also memorialized during the ceremony in honor of five distinguished Ordnance Corps veterans. The building's names and functions are: Miley Hall, fire control department; Porter Hall, advance track department; Cohen Hall, armament and electronics maintenance department; Hatcher Hall, turret department; and Dickson Hall, advance wheel department.
Fort Lee will complete about $1.2 billion in construction projects later this year, totaling 56 new buildings, as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure authorization. Under BRAC, the Army Ordnance Center and School relocated from Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland to Fort Lee.
The new state-of-the-art buildings are a marked improvement from those at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground, LeMasters said.
Norman Malbon, a civil engineer and member of the Norfolk District Engineering Branch, represented the district during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Malbon's team at Fort Lee developed the request for proposals that defined the general design-build requirements for constructing these facilities. He took the opportunity to tour the buildings prior to the ceremony.
"I was very impressed by the size, quality and functionality of the buildings," Malbon said. "All of the facilities were in operation and looked great, including the 400-person auditorium, the shooting range, the welding booths, the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank repair high bay areas and the classrooms."
The $800 million, five-building complex, is the latest edition to the Ordnance Center campus and instructors and students praise the complex for its hands-on, high-tech features. It includes multiple new audio visual capabilities and high-tech, energy-efficient and interactive training equipment, specific to each building's specialty.
"Each building's advanced automation, larger footprint and safer environment is tailor-made for enhanced and successful training," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 James Blucher, advanced wheel instructor for warrant officers. "When students arrive here, they soon realize they are definitely getting world-class training instruction."
The five-building complex also met the Army's Leadership in Energy Environmental Design, achieving a silver certification. Some of the building's notable "green initiatives" include:
Stormwater design that reduces particulate pollution and erosion
Reflective paving and roofing materials that reflect sun and decrease heat build-up and energy use
Non-emergency interior lights that automatically turn off during non-business hours and exterior lighting that reduces light pollution
Drought-resistant landscaping that eliminates the need for irrigation
Low-flow fixtures that reduce overall water consumption
Refrigerants for mechanical systems that reduce damage to the ozone layer and don't contribute to global warming
All appliances are ENERGY STAR® rated
According to LeMasters, after six years of planning, these buildings "are the future of the Army Ordnance Corps to pass through for years to come."
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| Date Taken: | 05.12.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.18.2011 06:38 |
| Story ID: | 70580 |
| Location: | FORT LEE, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 173 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Corps efforts ensure Army Ordnance Corps receives world-class training, by Gerald Rogers, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
